Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Just Got Rear Ended...Now What?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I would've accepted $200 in exchange for detailing my whole car and not worried about it again. You're making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be, unless there is an underlying damage that we cannot see from the photos.
 
  • Like
Reactions: croman
You will lose more in diminished value with an insurance claim. That damage is on plastic instead of aluminum. Any body shop can fix that for about $500 cash, and no record of an accident. That kind of damage occurs in parking lots. Just have the person that hit you pay you cash. That will save him a lot of money in increased premiums. Better for all parties.

John
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: oktane and croman
Hi all,

My wife just got rear ended by someone while stopped at a traffic light in our 3 month old 75 D. This is the first time we've been in an accident in the Tesla, so I need some advice on what do.

What happened: Both cars were stopped at a light, then the driver who hit her slowly crept forward for some reason and hit her. She was going very slow, so thankfully the collision wasn't hard and everyone is OK. My wife was able to direct her to a parking lot nearby where they exchanged insurance info. The whole thing was captured on dashcam footage (blackvue 650s). Clearly shows what happened and the driver is 100% at fault.

Damage: The damage to the car appears to be in 3 places, two very small marks that appear to be paint chips (i.e. through the clear coat and paint) and minor a few minor scuffs in one spot that may or may not come out. Appears that the marks are from the driver's license plate, although I'm not 100% sure. It's on the rear bumper. I will try to upload pictures in a bit. As far as I can tell the options will be, 1) take to a detailer to see if they can buff it out/touch things up (not likely) or 2) take to a body shop who will most likely replace the rear bumper.

What we're already done: Gotten insurance information from the driver (it's Geico), taken pictures of the damage and copied the videos for today from the SD Card onto our computer to avoid them getting written over. Should we have done anything else at this point?

Next Steps: I have a call into my insurance agent (State Farm) for advice and will be calling Tesla to discuss with them if anything should be inspected and where that should happen. Geico has already called us, so the driver started the claim. I'm guessing they will send out an adjuster to inspect. Before I call back Geico, I wanted to get advice from the community. Should I get the car inspected by one of Tesla's approved body shops? Should I get the car inspected by our service center to ensure there are no issues with any of the sensors (auto pilot, etc)? Any other advice or anything to lookout for would be great.

Thanks.
I feel like I had a similar experience....I figure the knucklehead was looking at his cell phone while at the traffic light........First I cried....no kidding. The car was less than 6 months old.

Then I brought the car to my local authorized Tesla Body Shop. They removed, "repaired" (they can take ripples and small dings out of the plastic) and painted the original bumper cover. They also replaced one of the sensors that had been knocked out of place. It was held in with a clip and tape, so it sure didn't seem there was anything terribly sophisticated going on there. No fancy calibrations or anything of the sort. And that was it. $1200. If I had it to do over again, I would have had my normal body shop guy take a look first. It was a straightforward repair, and I think any competent body shop could've done it with a little guidance.
 
NOTE, I am seeing more rear enders. WHY?, I am scared to death. Here's why, you are going 35 to 50, you let off the pedal, what happens? The car automatically nose dives with NO BRAKE LIGHTS! A cop almost rear ended me, he was not paying attention. I am thinking of installing a motion activated BRAKE light in back window. I have let a lot of folks drive my car, the first thing they notice is the instant braking with no BRAKE pedal.
 
Personally I would have never wanted to get my own insurance involved in such a minor accident. Even though it's not your fault, when you call your ins to file claim it still could affect your rates. If it were me I would cancel to adjuster visit if they haven't already been out and pursue through other drivers ins. Good detailed can buff out or touch up then buff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bebop and croman
NOTE, I am seeing more rear enders. WHY?, I am scared to death. Here's why, you are going 35 to 50, you let off the pedal, what happens? The car automatically nose dives with NO BRAKE LIGHTS! A cop almost rear ended me, he was not paying attention. I am thinking of installing a motion activated BRAKE light in back window. I have let a lot of folks drive my car, the first thing they notice is the instant braking with no BRAKE pedal.
Nope, your brake lights come on with regen. You can even see it on the dash.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: Az_Rael
Pursuing a claim will likely do more harm than good - given the photos provided. That slight incident will be reported as "accident."

Any potential buyer will assume you totaled the car - a diesel truck plowed into your car and the entire thing was taken apart and put back together by a shady repair shop. This person will never know it was a simple tap with a bit of paint chip.

Having the vehicle inspected is good - to assure yourself nothing more major has happened. But pursuing the claim does have its faults. DV is one of them.
 
Pursuing a claim will likely do more harm than good - given the photos provided. That slight incident will be reported as "accident."

Any potential buyer will assume you totaled the car - a diesel truck plowed into your car and the entire thing was taken apart and put back together by a shady repair shop. This person will never know it was a simple tap with a bit of paint chip.

Having the vehicle inspected is good - to assure yourself nothing more major has happened. But pursuing the claim does have its faults. DV is one of them.

Sigh, this is really unfair. I've never been in this situation before. The other driver immediately reported this to their insurance and filed the claim. I assume I'm stuck with the claim even if I don't end up having Geico pay for the repair. Am I able to stop the claim from going through? I imagine there's a reason they reported so quickly, but I have no idea.
 
Sorry IgotEastBay, I don't mean to be a bearer of bad news. First, I do not know if the claim itself will suffice for it to go in the history of the vehicle. I don't think the claim alone will mean it goes into the cars history. But pursuing the claim to the point of "repairs" may result in such information being listed in the car's history.

My understanding is that such information may be reported by the repair shop. However, not all repairs are always reported. If anything, this is just fodder to consider in pursuing a claim.

Here is a prior discussion on this topic. Will fixing a small dent put an accident on my CarFax?!

On a side note - your pictures should alleviate any concerns of a potential buyer in the future. Nonetheless, if I were you I wouldn't worry too much about all this.

It appears to be a small impact. Life is good. Enjoy your sweet ride!
 
NOTE, I am seeing more rear enders. WHY?, I am scared to death. Here's why, you are going 35 to 50, you let off the pedal, what happens? The car automatically nose dives with NO BRAKE LIGHTS! A cop almost rear ended me, he was not paying attention. I am thinking of installing a motion activated BRAKE light in back window. I have let a lot of folks drive my car, the first thing they notice is the instant braking with no BRAKE pedal.
Maybe your car is broken?
 
  • Funny
Reactions: mal_tsla
The car has to slow down quite a bit before the brake lights go on. If I just slightly let off on the accelerator I can coast with no brakes until close to the end. I usually end up tapping the the brakes if a car is close behind me.
 
Wow that's minor. I would've demanded cash, pocketed it and bought some touch up paint and called it a day. Win win for both parties since the at fault driver would get away with no claim on their insurance (their damage was probably nonexistent) and you'd get more cash than its worth. Its a bumper cover, it did its job well and body work on that small damage is a waste. Its entirely your call though as you didn't cause this damage so its really up to you on what you'd tolerate on your new car.

I totally agree. This looks like something Insurance didn't need to get involved in because it will be on record and for something very minor.

Like others have said I would've had the guy pay for buffing/paint correction/detailing the chipped parts.

However what is done is done and this is a good learning opportunity for everyone if you run into a situation like this in the future. Also reiterates the point of getting a clear bra on the car.
 
The car has to slow down quite a bit before the brake lights go on. If I just slightly let off on the accelerator I can coast with no brakes until close to the end. I usually end up tapping the the brakes if a car is close behind me.
It's no worse than a manual transmission car. Probably better. You can substantially slow your car down with engine braking, without your brake lights coming on, when you downshift your ice car. "The car automatically nose dives with NO BRAKE LIGHTS! " Doesn't happen in a properly functioning Tesla.

Rear end accidents are just very common. I don't think it's a Tesla problem in particular. I would like to see some statistics though, just in case.